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Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Potterville (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Potterville. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the east contained birth and death records; the county to the north contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Potterville is located in Eaton County.

To see how the shape of Michigan's counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Eaton County: Barry, Calhoun, Clinton, Ingham, Ionia & Jackson.

Below are the counties that are near Potterville. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Potterville:

  • Eaton County     (The home county of Potterville)
  • Barry County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potterville, with the one closest to Potterville listed first.
    • Nashville
      (18 miles [29 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Nashville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nashville
      • Nashville is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,696 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nashville <2>
    • Maple Grove
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the west)
    • Woodland
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)
    • Morgan
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Morgan. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Morgan
      • Morgan is located in Barry County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Morgan
      • From Potterville to Morgan
    • Dowling
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the west)
    • Hastings
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)
    • Banfield
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Creek
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
    • Freeport
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeport have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
      • Freeport is located in Barry County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 503 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <2>
  • Calhoun County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potterville, with the one closest to Potterville listed first.
    • Duck Lake
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
    • Rice Creek
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the south)
    • Marengo
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
    • Pennfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Albion
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
    • Marshall
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marshall have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshall
      • Marshall is located in Calhoun County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 6,923 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marshall <2>
    • Bedford
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bedford have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bedford
      • Bedford is located in Calhoun County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bedford <2>
    • Brownlee Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Brownlee Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownlee Park
      • Brownlee Park is located in Calhoun County
    • Ceresco
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ceresco have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ceresco
      • Ceresco is located in Calhoun County
    • Verona Park
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Clinton County
  • Ingham County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potterville, with the one closest to Potterville listed first.
    • Holt
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holt have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
      • Holt is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holt <2>
    • Edgemont Park
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgemont Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgemont Park
      • Edgemont Park is located in Ingham County
    • Lansing
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • North Lansing
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • East Lansing
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Lansing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Lansing
      • East Lansing is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 47,641 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Lansing <2>
    • Mason
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mason have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mason
      • Mason is located in Ingham County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,389 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mason <2>
    • Onondaga
      (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Okemos
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • North Leslie
      (18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Leslie have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Leslie
      • North Leslie is located in Ingham County
    • Meridian
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Meridian. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meridian
      • Meridian is located in Ingham County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Meridian
      • From Potterville to Meridian
    • Haslett
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haslett have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haslett
      • Haslett is located in Ingham County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haslett <2>
    • Leslie
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Pollok ‑ Historic
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Ionia County
  • Jackson County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potterville, with the one closest to Potterville listed first.
    • Springport
      (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
    • Berryville
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Tompkins
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tompkins have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tompkins
      • Tompkins is located in Jackson County
    • Devereaux
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the south)
    • Rives Junction
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rives Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rives Junction
      • Rives Junction is located in Jackson County
    • Parma
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Parma have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Parma
      • Parma is located in Jackson County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 731 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Parma <2>
    • Pleasant Lake
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
      • Pleasant Lake is located in Jackson County
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Lake <2>
    • Sandstone
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • Woodville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Woodville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodville
      • Woodville is located in Jackson County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Woodville
      • From Potterville to Woodville
    • Munith
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Spring Arbor
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the south)
  • Shiawassee County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Potterville, with the one closest to Potterville listed first.
    • Shaftsburg
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Laingsburg
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Laingsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laingsburg
      • Laingsburg is located in Shiawassee County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,283 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Laingsburg <2>
    • Perry
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Potterville, see our County-by-County Page for Potterville.

Cemeteries Near Potterville ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Potterville.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Potterville covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Potterville, with the one closest to Potterville listed first.

  • Potterville Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Potterville Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Potterville Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Benton Twp. Cemetery
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Benton Twp. Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Benton Twp. Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • West Windsor Cemetery
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the West Windsor Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the West Windsor Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Green Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Green Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Green Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pray Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pray Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pray Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Pinch Cemetery
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pinch Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pinch Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Dimondale Cemetery
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Dimondale Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Dimondale Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Maple Hill Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Pioneer Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Pioneer Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Pioneer Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Strange Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Strange Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Strange Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Skinner Cemetery
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Skinner Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Skinner Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Center Eaton Cemetery
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Center Eaton Cemetery
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Center Eaton Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Continue List   (271 more) ...
    • South Center Eaton Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Bentley Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Bentley Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Bentley Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Munger Cemetery
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for the Munger Cemetery
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for the Munger Cemetery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<7>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Potterville had a population of 505 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Potterville had a population of 2,765 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Potterville, with the one closest to Potterville listed first.

  • West Windsor
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Dimondale
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Kingsland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Kingsland. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kingsland
    • Kingsland is located in Eaton County
    • Google driving directions:
    • From your current location to Kingsland
    • From Potterville to Kingsland
  • Charlotte
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Packard
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Packard have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Packard
    • Packard is located in Eaton County
  • Millett
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millett have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millett
    • Millett is located in Eaton County
    • Millett has also been known as:
    • Milletts
  • Grand Ledge
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Ledge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Ledge
    • Grand Ledge is located in Eaton County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,881 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grand Ledge <2>
  • Gresham
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
  • Eaton Rapids
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Chester
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
  • North Aurelius
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Aurelius have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Aurelius
    • North Aurelius is located in Ingham County
  • Holt
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holt have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holt
    • Holt is located in Ingham County
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holt <2>
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Lansing
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Hoytville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoytville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoytville
      • Hoytville is located in Eaton County
    • Carlisle
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Potterville. See our List of 1890's Communities around Potterville.

Newspapers Published in Potterville ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 104 newspapers that have been published in the area around Potterville.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Potterville, there are papers which were published within 30 miles [48.3 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Potterville.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we begin with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These helpful websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Potterville:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Potterville. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Eaton County: www.eatoncounty.org/

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Charlotte and Eaton Rapids. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Potterville) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Potterville. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.6270, Longitude: -84.7390    
<7>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Potterville, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025